Arab leaders press U.S. to support Gaza ceasefire, but Blinken says move would let Hamas regroup

The latest:

• Blinken says aceasefire in Gaza would allow Hamas to regroup and attack.
• Rafah crossing in southern Gaza closed for the day, says Canadian Embassy in Cairo.
• Pro-Palestinian demonstrations held around world, including inToronto, Montreal and St. John's.
• Canadians stuck in Gaza werehoping to leave and cross into Egypt as early as Sunday.

Arab leaders publicly pressed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, hours after Palestinians said an Israeli airstrike killed at least 15 people in a UN-run school being used as a shelter.

In a rare open display of disagreement, the top U.S. diplomat pushed back as he stood next to his Jordanian and Egyptian counterparts at a news conference, saying a ceasefire would only let Hamas regroup and launch more attacks on Israel.

World and regional powers have failed to reach any consensus on how to deal with the escalating conflict in thefour weeks sinceHamas fighters burst over the border into Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 240 people hostage.

Israel has since struck Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and launched a ground assault, stirringglobal alarm at humanitarian conditions in the enclave. According to a Saturday update from officials of the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza,the war haskilled more than 9,488 Palestinians so far.

Pro-Palestinian protests took place in cities around the world including several across Canada calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Blinken metin Amman with the Saudi, Qatari, Emirati, Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers. "Right now, we have to make sure that this war stops," Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told the news conference.

Blinken said all were agreed on the need for peace and that the current status quo in Gaza could not hold, but he acknowledged there were differences between Washington and its allies.

"A ceasefire now would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7," said Blinken, who is on his second trip to the region since Israel and Hamas went to war. "No nation, none of us would accept that."

Washington has maintained its robust support for Israel but has also began advocating for temporary humanitarian pauses to allow aid into Gaza. On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuffed a pause proposal from Blinken after a day of meetings.

On Saturday, when asked by reporters if there was any progress on achieving a humanitarian pause, U.S. President Joe Biden said "Yes" and gave a thumbs-up as he departed a church in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

WATCH | No crossing at Rafah on Saturday:

Why was the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed Saturday?

10 months ago

Duration 1:42

The Canadian Embassy in Cairo confirmed the Rafah crossing has been closed all day. According to sources, the closure was due to Israel, the U.S. and Egypt reportedly accusing Hamas of trying to send injured militants across a claim Hamas denies. CBC's Tom Parry reports from Cairo.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Embassy in Cairoconfirmedon Saturday that the Rafahborder crossing from Gaza to Egypt has been closed all day.CBC News has reached out to Global Affairs Canada to ask what that might mean for people hoping to cross in the coming days.

Global Affairs sent a bulletin on Friday to Canadians, permanent residentsand eligible family members, telling them they may be able to leave Gaza and cross into Egypt as earlyas Sunday.

"The embassy is fully prepared to welcome the incoming Canadians and family members, and given the ever-changing environment at Rafah, we are working closely with partners to adjust our planning. We understand that the ongoing negotiations amongst parties on who can cross continue to be challenging, and the border has been closed all day," it said.

Jabalia school

On Saturday morning,Palestinian witnesses said Israel hit Al-Fakhoura school in Jabalia, where thousands of evacuees were living.

The Israeli military said that, according to a preliminary inquiry, it had not targeted the location "but the explosion may have been a result of IDF fire aimed at another target." The circumstances were"under review," it added.

Juliette Touma, director of communication for the UNPalestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), said the UN-run school, which is in the Gaza City area, had been hit.

"At least one strike hit the schoolyard where there were tents for displaced families. Another strike hit inside the school where women were baking bread," Touma said by phone.

Reuters footage of the aftermath showed broken furniture and other belongings lying on the ground, patches of blood spilled on the ground and over food and people crying.

"I was standing here when three bombings happened, I carried a body and another decapitated body with my own hands," a young boy, crying in despair, said in video obtained by Reuters. "God will take my vengeance."

Nearby, a resident comforted a woman in shock.

One man asked angrily: "Since when has it become normal to strike shelters? This is so unfair."

Fears among civilians

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told a news conference that Israel's forces have delivered a "hard blow" to Hamas, destroying communications hubs, bunkers and tunnel networks over the past two days and killing 12 commanders since the start of the war.

Israel last month ordered all civilians to leave the northern part of the Gaza Strip including Gaza City where it says Hamas militants are hiding in tunnelsand head to the south of the enclave.

The military said it would enable Palestinians to travel on a main Gaza Strip highway, the Salah a-Din road, during a three-hour window on Saturday afternoon. "If you care about yourself and your loved ones, heed our instruction to head south," it said in a social media post in Arabic.

Several residents told Reuters they were too afraid to use the road. Many posted warnings on social media that Israeli tanks were stationed on it.

U.S. Special Envoy David Satterfield said in Amman that between 800,000 to a million people had moved to the south of the Gaza Strip, while between 350,000 and 400,000 remained in northern Gaza City and its environs.

Israel has imposed a full blockade on Gaza and allowed very little aid in from Egypt, saying it fears it would be stolen by Hamas. Satterfield said there were no recorded instances of Hamas seizing aid.

Skirmishes along Israel-Lebanon border

In what appeared to presage a widening of Israel's ground offensive, the military issued footage showing armoured bulldozers churning up northern Gaza areas in what it described as "creating access routes for forces."

A combined tank and combat engineering unit carried out a "pinpoint raid" in the southern Gaza Strip "to map out buildings and neutralize explosives," it said.

WATCH |Israelis watching northern border after Hezbollah leader speaks:

Israelis watching northern border after Hezbollah leader speaks

10 months ago

Duration 2:32

People along Israel's northern border with Lebanon were watching closely as the leader of Hezbollah spoke Friday for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began. There is deep concern that the conflict could widen, as rocket attacks from Lebanon increase.

Lebanon's Hezbollahsaid it carried out simultaneous attacks on Israeli positions at the Lebanese border on Saturday, as residents of south Lebanon reported some of the fiercest Israeli strikes yet during weeks of cross-border clashes.

The Israeli army said its warplanes had struck Hezbollah targets in response to an earlier attack from Lebanese territory, and was accompanying the air strikes with artillery and tank shelling.

The Hezbollah movement in Lebanon is backed by Iran, as is Hamas. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallahwarned on Friday that conflict could spread if Israel continued bombing Gaza.